CH 13

“Hello, I’m Magarita Aberdeen.”

Magarta hid a look of surprise and introduced herself as resolutely as possible.

“Lucille.”

On the contrary, a short introduction returned, but she smiled and offered a seat without caring a bit.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Lucille.”

“Just Lucille.”

“Yes, Lucille, please sit over here.”

“No tea, please. The Empire’s tea didn’t suit my taste.”

Magarta took a close look at Lucille as he withdrew his hand from the tea. To be honest, until she faced him, Magarita was suspected that he had made up the fact that he was a member of the Setar clan.

However, the strange atmosphere and his unique accent that she had never heard of were definitely unique.

Magarta somehow had a baseless conviction that he was really from the Setar clan.

“You bought an item at Silote yesterday, right?”

It was Lucille who spoke first. Silote is one of the many auction houses held in the Empire, and because it is a small place, it was often used by them.

“Yes, I bought about three.”

“A statue of a white cat without one eye.”

“That’s right that I bought it.”

It was the last of the three purchases Margarita made yesterday. The cat statue with a sleek body that is much smoother and shinier than marble was really beautiful with brilliant purple jewels in its eyes.

However, only one side had eyes, the other side had no jewelry, and even scratches, so it came out at a low auction house like Silote at a low price.

But Magarita bought it. Even if it has a flaw, it feels more beautiful. The moment she saw the glowing cat statue under the dim lights of the auction house, Magarita was completely fascinated by it.

Like destiny.

“Sell it to me.”

“What?”

Margarita, who recalled last night, opened her eyes wide at Lucille’s sudden words.

Maybe it was from the Setar clan, or it’s Lucille’s?

Not knowing what to answer, Magarita hesitated, and Lucille took a bead out of his arms. Magarita gasped in an involuntary exclamation at the five-colored beautiful beads.

“It’s the guardian stone of Setar.”

Looking at the bead blankly, she almost screamed at Lucille’s words. Fortunately, she quickly covered her mouth, but her hand, which could not hide her trembling.

The guardian stone of Setar! That’s the famous guardian stone?

“I’ll give you this, so let’s trade it for the cat statue.”

But unlike Magarta, who seemed to faint, Lucille was only calm.

How could that be?

Setar’s guardian stone was praised as the most mysterious gem on the continent. It was rumored that those who possess this treasure, supported by all the Setar clans, will have wealth and glory forever.

In fact, Estatia the Great, the highest holy army of the Kalim Empire 100 years ago, was said to have led the country better than anyone else after receiving a guardian bead from the Setars.

But he’s offering the best treasure on the continent as a replacement for a scratched cat statue?

At this point, Magarta wondered if she was dreaming now.

“I heard that the guardian stone is very special for the Setar clan as well.

But you’re offering it as a replacement?”

“It’s up to us how to use the guardian stone. All you have to decide is whether to exchange this guardian stone for the cat statue or not.”

Lucille put his hands forward. There was a guardian stone in one hand, and the other was empty.

As if the guardian stone and the cat statue were equal.

Magarta became increasingly confused. She just bought her favorite cat statue, but how did this happen? She closed her eyes and pressed her dizzy head.

“The cat statue, it was really beautiful .”

Then a moment later, Magarta sighed and rose from her seat to take out a statue of a cat in a drawer.

“So I thought I was just going to keep it.”

When the package wrapped meticulously to prevent the statue from being broken, a smooth and elegant body was revealed. It was full of life as if it were going to move right away.

So unlike other people who complained that one broken eye was ugly, Magarita was mesmerized as soon as she saw the cat statue. She found the cat much more beautiful than the guardian stone Lucille had taken out.

“But this seems to be so much more important to you that you have to trade it for the precious guardian stone of your clan.”

As soon as Lucille saw the cat statue, his face relaxed as if he had let down his guard. She could tell just by looking at his affectionate expression that he finally met something precious.

“So, you want to raise the price?”

But it quickly disappeared when Magarita repackaged the cat statue. Jill, who was guarding her, clenched her sword with a sharp force emanating from Lucille.

Magarta understood his mind and stopped Jill. Then she smiled brightly and handed Lucille the cat statue, which she had wrapped very carefully.

“No, you don’t have to give me the guardian stone. If it’s that precious, I’ll just give it back.”

Lucille, who was on guard, opened his eyes wide.

“What?”

“The price is to meet a person from the Setar clan in person and to see the guardian stone in person.”

If she had intended to resell it in the name of Aberdeen, she wouldn’t have handed it over like this.

She was a successor and a minor owner.

However, it was also up to her to dispose of anything she had purchased privately. If this was such a precious object that the continent’s best treasure should be presented as an exchange, she wanted to return it to the owner.

It’ll be better for the cat statue, too.

“Don’t lose it again and cherish it.”

Lucille blinked blankly a couple of times as Magarita smiled brightly.

As if the whole sun had gathered here, it was dazzling.

She was shining brilliantly as if she had made only the most beautiful light in the world.

“You’re amazing.”

“Really?”

Lucille’s lips curled at the sight of Magarita smiling kindly. However, he sighed and got up from his seat with the cat statue in his arms. There was something desperate about him.

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes.”

“It was a short meeting, but it was an honor to meet with the Setar clan.”

Lucille alternated between the graciously greeting Magarta and the finely wrapped cat statue. He wouldn’t know that something in his rigid mind had changed for a moment.

“Margarita Aberdeen.”

“What? Ah!”

Margarita, who raised her head in wonder at the sound of his call, was surprised at the sudden change and grabbed onto him reflexively. Something smooth filled her hand and it was none other than the guardian stone of Setar, which scattered brilliant light.

“Lucille, this is……!”

“I brought it for you from the beginning, so just keep it.”

“What?”

“Margarita Aberdeen. Because I think you deserve it.”

“What do you mean!”

“And you’ll find out about the ‘qualification’ one day.”

Magarita tried to return the guardian stone, saying, “What nonsense is that?” but Lucille went out without listening to her. Whether she came after him or not, he didn’t intend to take it back.

“Magnus, Trust me one more time this time. If I’m wrong again,slap my cheek this time and lock me up so I won’t go out again.”

Lucille, who was completely nervous about Magarita’s screams from behind, recited as if threateningly looking at the cat statue. He shook it once as if he was grabbing the cat by the collar, although others might think it was crazy, and soon carefully wrapped it in his arms.

“…….”

Then someone from the front looked up at the sign of approaching. a great beauty with long silvery gray hair and vivid gray-green eyes

She was walking from this front. Magarita was also quite a beauty, but this woman was beautiful in a different sense than her.

Beautiful…

Then the woman and Lucille’s eyes met in the air. Lucille did not shy away, but the woman looked away. No, to be exact, it was not avoided, but the eyes naturally went away as if it was only a coincidence that their eyes met from the beginning.

The woman brushed past him. Lucille stopped walking and turned around and stared at the back of the woman who disappeared across the hall. The dark gray-green eyes that were seen between the silver-gray hair remained strong in his mind.

“That’s a strange woman.”

He handed over the guardian stone and recovered the cat statue, so he was thinking of going back to the village. There was nothing good about being in an empire full of desire for a long time.

But Magarita, the new owner of the guardian stone, and the woman who just passed by. There were a lot of strange things that caught his eye.

“Let’s stay in the Empire for a while.”

He just wanted to leave this place quickly, but he started to get curious.

☆*: .｡.  .｡.:*☆

That’s Lucille of Setar.

Belita thought, feeling the glaring gaze behind her. The cat-like impression or eye color, which is hard to see in reality, was really the same as the illustration in the game.

Somehow she felt new to see him.

It was no exaggeration to say that Setar’s Lucille marks the beginning of the game, .

“It seems that the guardian stone was safely handed over to Magarita.”

“The Garden of Guardians” begins when the heroine, Magarita, gets the guardian stone of Setar. In other words, the scene where Lucille and Magarita met was a tutorial of the game.

The story really started in earnest.

“I hope you can survive until the end.”

Belita put her hands together and prayed as if she were determined to herself.

Knock knock.

“Margarita, it’s me.”

When she knocked on the door of Magarta’s office, something’s flipped inside.

There was a loud noise and the door burst open. Belita, who almost broke her high nose by hitting the door, hurriedly stepped back.

“Oh! Sorry, Bell!”

Magarita’s face was as red as a man caught stealing.

How can she be so naive? She was disappointed because she already knew the reason, or she would have been in trouble.

“What’s the matter? What’s wrong with your face?”

But when she pretended not to know anything and asked, Magarita immediately pulled her inside and locked the office door. There was only Jill inside.

“Long time no see, Jill.”

“Lady Belita. How have you been?”

Belita was surprised to see Jill’s face. for her cheeks were as red as Margaret’s

At this point, Belita, who knows all the circumstances, began to look forward to it.

Is the guardian stone that amazing?

“What the hell is going on, Margaret?”

“A man from Setar just came to see me!”

“Who?”

“The Setar clan!”

“Setar? The Setar clan? Did I just hear you right?”

“Yes!”

Belita’s acting of asking back as if she knew nothing was outstanding. Magarita, who didn’t really notice that she knew everything, hurriedly pulled Belita to sit on the sofa.

“He came here for a reason, but look at this.”

Then she quickly pulled a bead out of her skirt pocket and stuck it out. Belita was stunned at the sight.

Should she carry the treasures of the continent in her pocket like coins?